Free Tearing The Shroud by JM Bray Page B

years. Coleman told us they specialize in a training called The Run. He didn’t give specific details — as we know, every Cloister has its secrets.’ She hesitated. ‘I’ve never seen anything like it. He somehow channeled every resource into running.’ She looked at Sari as she finished. ‘I’d venture even his Masters would be surprised at what he accomplished.’
    The older woman tented her fingers. ‘Sari, what are your thoughts?’
    ‘Matriarch, I have to say. When you sent us out, with nothing to follow except what you dreamt, I had my doubts. However, after what I’ve seen and heard...’ She shook her head. ‘The details were precisely as you spoke of them. Now, learning of these abilities, I’m convinced. We’ve found a Traveler.’
    The Matriarch sat back and asked quietly, ‘But will he be willing?’
    After a moment, Sari cleared her throat: ‘Matriarch, may I speak plainly?’
    The woman’s eyebrows shot up. ‘Of course, Sari, you know every voice is valued in our order. We are behind closed doors as well. Speak your mind.’
    ‘I don’t want to seem disrespectful. Or that I doubt your leadership in this matter...’
    ‘Oh, for goodness sake woman, out with it.’ The Matriarch waved a hand.
    ‘What good is a Traveler without a Companion?’ she said in a rush.
    ‘That’s what’s bothering you?’
    ‘Of course it is. The Archives are clear. Should the need arise for a Traveler, he must have a Companion as a willing guide. Without both, each of them is useless!’
    Jolie bit the inside of her cheek to keep quiet. Sari had done it now. She’ll be the one scrubbing pots.
    The Matriarch only smiled. ‘My dear, of course there’s a Companion. I found him before I sent you to retrieve our Traveler.’
    Jolie saw her own surprise reflected in Sari’s face. They looked back at the Matriarch, who simply sipped her tea and sighed contentedly. She looked every bit the gentle grandmother rather than the most powerful Seer in the Realm.
    ‘But...’ Jolie said.
    ‘How?’ Sari finished the sentence.
    ‘That? It was fairly simple.’ She paused for another sip. ‘I just had him roll the dice.’ She smiled warmly at them and went back to her tea.

Chapter 9
    The Eight Sisters
Thirty-Seven Years in the Past
Callendel
    Justus closed the book. He was excited. Though he had previously failed to get the results he sought, he believed he finally had the answer. After all this time, to find a solution… in such drivel . He tossed the book to the table in his office. ‘ Samuel’s Book of Tales .’ He shook his head. A garish children’s book.
    He turned and stared out the paned window. The city of Callendel was bustling with afternoon life. From his home on the hill, a maze of streets sprawled to the bay beyond. Shops of every description lined them, and the people bustled about. Scurrying like ants, living their insignificant lives. He long ago distanced himself from them; others were a way to achieve his own goals and pleasures, nothing more.
    He looked at his library. His esoteric collection greatly exceeded that of his father. Four large shelves contained book after book of fables. He had discovered that many mysteries of life were touched on in these simple tomes. It was a way, he supposed, of passing knowledge to the next generation, along with the ridiculous morals they attempted to instruct. ‘They don’t comprehend what they truly hold. Ants.’
    His thought shifted to the matter at hand. Let’s see, in this fable, the witch summoned a spirit, changing the child into a rabbit before eating him. He picked up the book again, turning to the correct page . In other versions, she simply ate him. She had summoned the spirit with a tincture of wormsworth, a small red flower of some sort, bone meal and pine sap. He examined the illustration. Was that flower… ? Indeed! It had to be the pellundium blossom.
    He read, “‘...she ignited the vile mixture, calling an evil spirit from the